GameKnot: GameKnot related, Puzzles

GameKnot related: Puzzles

From	Message
grege79 18-May-10, 07:25	Puzzles Who has the power to delete puzzles? I created one just a couple of days ago, it longer appears on my profile or in the list I am not referring to a mere exclusion from the main list as per the blue asterix, but gone altogether. Any thoughts?
grege79 18-May-10, 07:40	Not the first time either.
kingdawar 18-May-10, 12:32	It probably was complete crap, with all due respect.
grege79 18-May-10, 17:34	Thats the thing, I have produced some puzzles that were complete crap, but this one was pretty good I thought. In the past I didn't mind as I would have agreed, the puzzles removed were ordinary. But what seems like complete crap to a 2000 player may actually have some merit for lower rated players, and this site caters for the full percentile band so your judgement on this one is in fact not relevant. With all due respect. For instance a rook and king end game puzzle would barely spark any transmitter between your synapses, but for others it is an important tool in their learning and development.
kingdawar 18-May-10, 19:23	"This one was pretty good" I don't know, I think I haven't seen it. But I do know that puzzles will be deleted automatically by GK only (yes ONLY - GK "should" use some more stringent rules for older puzzles) if this criterion is met (on the bottom of the puzzle page): "Puzzles with more than 10 alternative solutions will be automatically deleted." So considering it's gone without your knowing, it probably really was a crap one, or at least one with a very incomplete solution - there is no possibility for others to add solutions if you have already done all of that yourself.
grege79 18-May-10, 20:05	I know you are a top puzzler so you may not remember it, but you added one alternate solution. But I hadn't seen the over 10 alternate rule, I just noted it then. So that would have been the case, too many alternate solutions involved. But duly noted, if I spend some more time adding the alternates myself they wont be deleted, that I didn't know. I made the assumption that an alternate solution was an alternate solution regardless of who put it up, that's why in the past I have just posted puzzles and left people to find them. But moving forward I will add them in myself, and see if can get a few stars.
tugger 20-May-10, 21:09	Getting all the alternatives in is not an easy task, especially on the shorter lines. I take a puzzle down as soon as anyone (usually HK) finds an alternative line, and either fix the puzzle or bin it. This ensures that only the good puzzles remain on my profile. Good puzzles have no alternatives on the main line. Whatever black does, white only has one move to continue his march to mate. It's ok if the shorter lines have multiple solutions, but if you want your puzzle to stay on the main page, it's much better to put these in yourself before posting. Of course, puzzles with more than one way to mate are still puzzles, and have much value for those looking at puzzles to improve their tactics, but they will always be deemed "ugly" by composition connoisseurs like HK (and myself if I'm honest!). The "Five Star" ones will rarely have a check or capture for the first move, and usually have a theme, or character. Rarely will black's moves be entirely forced, he will have options that result in different mating nets of differing beauty. When I make a puzzle now, this is what I try to do. It's not easy at all, of course, there's only one of my puzzles which I consider a gem, and even that one I think HK only considers reasonable! He's a hard man to please.
kingdawar 21-May-10, 00:54	Usually those posted 6-move mates turning out to be 4-movers with several alternative routes don't please me much indeed, I can't see much merit in them.

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